Posted on 07/27/2015 10:57:06 AM PDT by Old Sarge
Very interesting. My son had myoclonic seizures as a baby and multiple ear infections. He was also later diagnosed with ADD. Wonder if they’re connected in his case....
I would be suspect of the ADD diagnoses with the history you posted. I would say there's a good chance it isn't ADD or it could be that and Vestibular though. BTW did he have myoclonic seizures or Febrile ones? There's a big difference both in cause and symptoms.
Myoclonic ones generally are jerking and still alert and triggered by sounds etc. They generally are triggered by a high body temperature that has suddenly spiked and the seizure occurs too cool them down. Febrile seizures though can scare the living wits out of anyone who hasn't seen one happen before. They are also common with very young kids with ear infections. The kid basically has an epileptic in symptoms type seizure their jaw can become rigid and they convulse rather than spasm.
My grand daughter used to have them caused usually by ear infections she would get. First one she had I thought she wasn't breathing because she was turning blue. I tried to open her mouth and her jaw was locked so I knew it was a seizure at that point and she was in fact breathing.
Some things will point to Vestibular issues. It often causes balance and coordination issues. It can cause vision issues. For example a consistent delayed, or too quick at taking a swing at a baseball and going into a defensive posture body wise. The brain is saying danger. It's not there to play baseball but rather sees it as a danger. It can also mean a child or adult has problems understanding conversations in places where there are auditory background distractions such as others talking or TV Etc. There can be a delayed response or even no response sometimes when you try to talk to them ESPECIALLY if they aren't looking at you at the time. They aren't deaf and may even test fine in an actual hearing test it's how the sounds are being processed is what is causing the issues.
Over Sensitivity too certain frequencies in the auditory spectrum is common with this. They may be single eye functional as well. It takes an eye doctor testing both eyes at once to catch that one. I passed my armed forces physical because they didn't check both eyes at once LOL. That issue messes up depth perception and adaption has to be taught to compensate with it.
More issues include a fear of heights. This is because the brain is geared for preservation and the brain knows about the balance issue and recognizes heights as a danger and demands an appropriate response to the danger. When that doesn't happen fear is triggered. Shoes can tell a story believe it or not. Persons with Inner Ear disorders or damage often walk off balance even though visually it may not be noticed by others. This causes the person's feet to compensate or counter balance and results in breaking shoes over to one side. My parents couldn't figure out how I could ruin any pair of shoes out in a months LOL.
The Hyperactivity with Vestibular Disorders usually is not there as it is with ADHD. A vestibular patient isn't calmed or effected by caffeine like an ADHD patient is.
Concentration on any task can be difficult and physically tiring in a matter of minutes. Disruptions of distractions can trigger agitation many times. The person may have a lot of trouble returning to the task they were doing in trying to remember what they were thinking etc. Vertigo is also a big complaint. Sensitivity to abrupt weather changes such as storms moving in points to Vestibular issues.
How a person can handle certain places can become an issue. Stores like Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc where there is a lot of alarms, announcements, etc will disrupt the persons train of thought and they become agitated just wanting in and out fast. The longer they stay in that environment the more uncomfortable they become. They often will leave a cart sitting and simply leave. But they may not have any clue as too why they are uncomfortable.
Now for the frightening but harmless symptoms. Sensory Processing is much like a computer it has it's limits which are determined by speed, memory availability, and input. If too much is demanded just as a computer a freeze up can occur at inopportune moments like out driving, in a store, at work, at school, etc. I'll describe this as best I can. All of the sudden you loose perception of where you are, why you are there, how you got there, time, everything is dream like. Yes Stroke is one of a persons first thoughts. This is a sensory processing Crash. Harmless in itself but the first few times can scare the living crap out of you. You go to the ER or doctor and they can't find anything wrong. That part can be headed off when you figure out what triggers it. I haven't had one of those in several years but I have the seizures almost daily.
The treating doctor has to understand it is a Vestibular issue and not a phobic or anxiety caused by a traumatic experience or issues where antidepressants are used for treatment. Antidepressants and Vestibular Induced Anxiety doesn't mix well because it makes the sensory processing issue much worse and can even trigger an adverse medication reaction called Serotonin Syndrome. Much like taking LSD. That isn't tinfoil I've saw it happen to my wife. She was a quadriplegic and quads have Inner Ear Damage.
This article best describes the disruptions it causes in relation to doing task, concentration, and even memory in that process. The ADD perhaps? Persons with this can often read lips faster than they can processing hearing. It is important for a child with this to always be able to see someone who is talking to them such as a teacher. It is also why some kids when you tell them to do something and they don't respond the first or second time then say "huh"? They are just beginning to hear you. This can especially be true if any distractions are going on such as TV background noises etc. Cognitive Aspects Of Vestibular Disorders
Look under Stimulus-sensitive myoclonus and you see what I'm saying about sight and sound it can also happen at sleep when the filtering process of the auditory system in error allows sounds to seem much louder like noises outside. Myoclonus Fact Sheet
On this one don't let the title fool you. This doctor has tied it in to Dyslexic type symptoms as well. His book Phobia Free I highly recommend anyone with Vestibular Disorders reading. That book I found in a second hand store helped me start finding answers that doctors could not give me because they at the time didn't know. Much of this info has just came out in the past 20 years. It's being looked at very seriously in Vestibular Science Research. He attributes it to damage in the Vestibular and Cerebellar part of the brain which work together which has become damaged. Click on the Media Tab and Books by Dr Levinson and click on Phobia Free that or go to Amazon the book is worth reading for all Vestibular Patients. His early discoveries were scoffed at until Vestibular research began to come to pretty much the same conclusions.Dyslexia on line
Understanding Auditory Processing Disorders
One last thing. It can make school studies difficult. Look for fine motor skills issues such as poor handwriting skills. Look also at grammar and sentence structuring such as words misspelled or out of place. Self correction is difficult because the brain doesn't recognize the mistake in most cases. It doesn't mean the person is dumb or low IQ. Many professions such as fire fighters, paramedics, etc may have this. The adrenalin triggered in the job allows them to function often when others can't. But that type of concentration is usually only good for duration of the crisis at hand.
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